


Sea Glass

by greekowl87



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, Domesticity, F/M, Fluff, MSR, Pre IWTB
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-12-18 03:18:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greekowl87/pseuds/greekowl87
Summary: Mulder and Scully are questioning each other while on the run at the end of 2003 in the Outer Banks.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what inspired me to write this. This ficlet could easily stand by itself but I might come back and add to it in the future. Not entirely sure but I want too. But in the mean time, please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Scully had protested somewhere around Halloween she was tired of living like a nomad to Mulder. She was tired of living in motel rooms and eating take out all the time. She wanted to just stop and breathe for a few months without having to worry. Except he did worry. He was a wanted fugitive and was pretty sure Scully was as well.

“Why can’t we just stop somewhere for a few months, Mulder,” she had complained somewhere outside of Charleston, South Carolina. “And pretend we aren’t on the run? Can we pretend to be normal for awhile?”

He could have argued otherwise, to prove a point, but he could see how tired she was in her eyes. Her hair was a different shade of brown, her red roots were beginning to show. “Fine,” he agreed. “I’ll find us a place.”

The North Carolina department of transportation had just opened up highway NC 12 and resumed ferry operations between Hatteras and Ocracoke at the end of November. The Outer Banks were still feeling some of the effects of Hurricane Isabel that had rocked the area back in mid-September. And it was now mid-December, winter, pretty much dead to tourist except for the locals. Rebuilding the community had been slow but he managed to find a small seaside house for rent they could have up to the beginning of tourist season.  
He suggested somewhere along the border of South Carolina and North Carolina and then they did the seven-hour drive to Hatteras Island.

The beach house was named ‘Heavenly Haven’ and was a stark contrast to the large, luxurious vacations homes. A single level home raised on up on stilts, it was three bedrooms and one bath, a large living room, and kitchen, with a deck and the master bedroom overlooking the sand dunes. It was perfect.

As they departed South Carolina, driving northwards, Scully had grown quiet and withdrawn into herself. She had done that a lot lately. Mulder would try to draw her out into a conversation as he drove. It reminded him of before, a life before when they both used to be someone. But she remained silent. At first, he wondered if it was him that was causing it; no doubt he had part of the blame.

The silence was deafening. He was losing her. He couldn’t lose her too. He couldn’t.

So he drove them on through the night. She had fallen asleep, her head pressed against the passenger side window. She looked so small. As he started on the bridge, she awoke with the first jolt as soon as they hit the bridge.

She blinked herself awake, her blue eyes widening taking in the expansive Albermarle sound. She took a sharp intake of breath as she saw them driving towards the rising sun. She looked at Mulder, who was quiet. He had put on his sunglasses and lowered the sun visor. “Mulder?” she mumbled.

He could hear her confusion, concern. “I figured a change of scenery.”

“Where are we?”

“Currently on the Wright Memorial Bridge connecting Currituck County to Dare County.”

“Dare County,” she mumbled. “The Outer Banks?”

“No place other,” he replied.

“I thought they were closed,” she mumbled. “'Cause of the hurricane.”

“Just reopened a couple of weeks ago.”

“What’s here?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

She frowned and looked out to the road ahead as the bridge ended. He pulled off the road at a Walmart. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Mulder, why are you doing this?”

He turned the keys off from their car and turned to face her. He took off the sunglasses and gently caressed her cheek, his fingers running through her brown hair. “I thought we could do something different, maybe mix it up? I know you’re tired. I just thought, maybe if we stay somewhere for more than a week, it could…” he shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it would be good for you…us. We barely talk anymore. We…” His voice faded. “I thought it’d be nice. There is nothing between here and there.”

“Where’s there, Mulder?”

“Buxton.”

She was quiet, choosing to not say anything. She drew out her own sunglasses from the glove box. Mulder licked his lips, uncertain of what to say. She turned and looked out into the parking lot.

“Aren’t you coming with?” he asked.

“I’m fine here, Mulder.”

He bit his lip and withdrew his hand. All he seemed to do was cause her pain. All he had done was ruin her life. He was a plague on her very existence. He lowered his eyes and pulled down his sunglasses. “I’ll be back in a bit,” he sighed and got out of the car.

… .

The silence continued to ensue between them as they drove the extra hour and a half down the barrier islands of the Outer Banks. Scully’s eyes were trained on the endless sand dunes and the Pamlico Sound. Mulder’s eyes continued to stay trained on the road. He had loaded up their car with groceries, enough to last a month. As they entered Buxton, he pulled up to the small rental property. Scully got out first and took a moment to look at the small property and then back to Mulder. “For real, Mulder?”

He stood by the door of the car, watching her take the first steps to the house. “Yes.”

She looked back at him and then the house and back to him. Mulder sighed and tossed her the keys. She caught them cleanly and unlocked the house without another word. He rolled his eyes and looked down at his feet. Maybe this was one big mistake. Maybe he really and truly lost her for good. Sighing once more, he began to unload all the groceries and their bags without another word.

He could not find her when he got done. Mulder had put away all of their groceries, put their bags in the master bedroom, although he was unsure if they would be sharing a bed at this point. Ever since Flordia, she had completely withdrawn from him. Erected walls and entrenched herself away from him and the entire world. Not a word except the basics and 'I’m fine, Mulder.’ He wandered the halls of the rental looking for her. His heart began to speed up when he could not find Scully. Had she actually left?

He rushed down the deck towards the sand dunes to the beach. He saw her at the water’s edge, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. He slowed as he approached her. Her gaze was focused eastwards to the sun and the incoming waves. “Scully?”

“Why here, Mulder?” she asked in a small voice. “What do you hope to accomplish?”

To save us, he thought. But he remained silent. She turned to face him, tears streaked down for her crystal blue eyes.

“Answer me, Mulder!”

“I…” he paused, scratching his stubble, looking down at his feet. “I picked up some hair dye for you while I was at the store.”

“Oh joy. What color this time? Black? Blonde? Maybe blue perhaps?” she spat, looking back out the sea.

“Red.”

She was quiet and gazed at him before walking past him back up to the house. Mulder sighed, kicking the sand, and stared back out into the sea. The sea churned angrily, just like her heart, he supposed, cutting him off from her and everything else and drowning him.

… .

It was like she was purposely avoiding him. No. She was trying to avoid him. No. She was avoiding him. Winter had come early and the cold Atlantic winds had come into the small rental and divided them across the expansive ocean. Divided and they shall fall.

The first week was tough. Scully had dyed her hair back to red but still did not speak to Mulder. They slept in separated rooms. She had put his things in one of the guest rooms instead of the master bedroom with her. He went out one afternoon while she sat in the living room reading and came back with a small two-foot Christmas tree with false color lights. Wordlessly, he put it in the corner of the living room. She watched him soundlessly. He left and disappeared back into the other guest room. Christmas came and went. Neither one of them spoke to each other still.

He lay in the guest bed, reading some random book, the small tv on with some hockey game. Mulder’s mind wandered though, unable to focus on anything else. He did not want to admit it. He rubbed his chest, his heart. He could still feel it breaking. Except it was already gone. He had lost her. Admit it, say it out loud. “I lost you,” he whispered to the empty room.

He felt tears come. He would tell her to go and live on without him. And he would be alone. A fitting end to his life. He heard the door open and he saw her standing in the door way with a long blanket wrapped around her. He said nothing and neither did she. Scully had tears in her eyes as well. Wordless, she came to his side, slipping onto the bed. She snuggled up to his side, snaked her arm around his chest, pulled the blanket around them, and buried her face into his chest. He felt silent sobs rack her body and all he could do was hold her.

… .

Scully had fallen asleep against him through her crying. He took a moment to admire her beauty one more time, one more time before he told her to live without him and be free. He played with the new red locks. God, he had missed it. Quietly, he untangled himself from her and got up. It would be New Year’s day soon. He had been so optimistic with her at the beginning of the new millennium. Now, four years later, he had lost everything. She groaned in protest at him leaving her side.

“Mulder?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Do you want some tea?” he asked softly.

“Hm,” she groaned again. “No.”

The most they had spoken in weeks. Maybe now was the time, while her defenses were down. But he still cared about her. No. He would wait for the right moment. He got up without saying anything else and went out into the living room. He gathered his jacket and went to go sit out on the deck and watch the sea in thought. But she followed him.

“Mulder, we need to talk.”

Well, maybe she would beat him to the punch.

“We do,” he sighed, shifting in the lounge chair.

More silence. She sat across from him, huddled in one of his jackets that seemed to swallow her. She pulled a hood up over her head to shield herself from the cold. Inwardly he sighed, wondering if he was overstepping his bounds. He opened his arm slightly. “Scully, come here. You’re going to freeze.”

She sighed, stubbornly but allowed herself to sit in his lap and feel his arms come around her. She closed her eyes and instinctively rested her head in the crook of her neck. She felt warm and remembered how much he still loved her.

“I think,” he began, “you should get as far away from as possible. Live your life. It’s obvious you would better without me.”

She sat up, angrily. “No. Mulder, no.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You have cast me out to sea. What has this past month been?”

She took a deep breath and looked out to the sea. Her blue eyes watered. “I..I don’t know, Mulder. I’m just so tired. Tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of not being me anymore. I don’t even know how I am anymore!” she cried. Instinctively, she leaned into him and she felt his arms come around her. “I don’t know who I am anymore, Mulder.”

He took a deep breath and nuzzled her forehead. “You’re Scully, my brilliant, stubborn, out of this Scully…my touchstone,” he whispered. “No one else. But if anything…” He took another deep breath. “Maybe, maybe it proves the point that you’d be better without me.”

“No,” she stoutly huffed. “No. We’re in this together. This is about us. I won’t leave you. I stopped talking to you…I just needed time, Mulder.”

He was quiet. “And what did you decide?”

“I’m still here, aren’t I? I don’t scare that easily.” Mulder closed his eyes in relief. He kissed her forehead gently, her eyelids, her cheeks, her lips. “I love you, Mulder. Never doubt that.”

All he could manage was a nod.

She relaxed. “I like it here,” she whispered, looking out to the sea.

“I hoped you would. We have it until May.”

“Maybe, in the future,” she whispered to him, “we could just stop running. One day, we could just find a place to call home.”

“I’d like that,” he whispered back, rubbing her arms. “A little house, middle of nowhere. Just us.”

“One day,” she murmured, snuggling closer to him. They gazed out to the sea in fragile silence, the future still uncertain. For now, this moment would suffice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote a second part. I'm pretty sure I'm done with this fic though. Hopefully.

Maybe she had been wrong about keeping him at arm's length for the past month and shutting him out completely. The few other times she had done it to him had ended in disaster but they always found a way back together. But this time, Scully had come dangerously close to losing him forever. Her pride and nature to keep problems inward had almost cost her Mulder. They had spent the morning after Christmas on the deck, huddled together against the cold, watching the angry Atlantic churn, quietly affirming their vows to one another.

Do you believe in extraterrestrials? No, but I believe in you.

It took them a long time to detangle themselves from one another. Only when Mulder whispered about something losing feeling in his butt that she scooted off his lap. She waited for him to get up, stretch his legs, wincing as the blood rushed downwards into his cold limbs. And just like always, to her silent delight, his hand found its spot on the small of her back, as he guided them back inside.

"Mulder," she called softly, feeling smaller than she actually was. It didn't help that the coat she had grabbed swallowed her or that her pride was in significantly smaller. "I'm sorry. For everything."

He took off her jacket and then his, hanging them up by the door. His cold hands rubbed her arms up and down gently to generate some warmth for her. She shifted uncomfortably and lowered her gaze, closing her eyes and feeling the start of tears. He hooked a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "We're all right, Scully," he said softly. He pushed back the new red strands of hair. "I like your new hair color." 

"Did you pick it on purpose?"

He nodded slightly. "I wasn't a profiler all those years for nothing. And besides, every now and then I can read you."

"Thank you."

He nodded gently to the living room. "Why don't you go sit down in the living room and I'll make you some tea, hm?"

"Mulder," she called, before leaving. 

"Yes, Scully?"

"You'll be coming to bed tonight, right?" 

Truth be told, she hated sleeping by herself. She had grown accustomed to his presence when they took their relationship to the next level in what seemed like a life time ago. All those months on the run, Mulder's presence was one of the few things she could depend on when her nightmares woke her in the middle of the night. He was always there to soothe the darkness away. Since they arrived at the beach house, she had barely slept. Too afraid to go to him, they continued to sleep in separate rooms until her emotions won her over earlier that afternoon.

"If you'll have me, Scully. You know that is not a question."

She nodded quickly and disappeared into the living room without another word. Scully sat on the couch and gathered one of the random blankets resting on the couch and pulled it towards her. She watched him gather a tea pot and a box of tea and set it on the stove top. "Are you hungry? I was thinking I could drive down and find a local market for some rockfish. Would you like that?"

"Rockfish?" she arched an eyebrow.

"Striped bass," he corrected. "I learned to cook it on the Vineyard. I have a really good recipe for baked rockfish. We could make mashed potatoes and a salad with it. I did buy that stuff at the store before we came."

"You buy vegetables?"

"Well, don't go around telling people," he teased. He took the tea kettle off the burner and poured it into a large mug with the Cape Hatteras light house on it. He steeped the green tea bag and carried it carefully into the living room. "Here you go, Scully."

She took it gratefully as he sat down next to her. The mug warmed her hands and he straightened out the blanket covering her. She looked down into the mug and back to him. "How can you look at me after the way I treated you?" she whispered.

"Well, I haven't been exactly perfect either," he remarked, thinking back to all their years of partnership. "I ask myself every morning how I got so lucky to have you in my life."

"Now you're just being a hopeless romantic," she teased.

"Did you know I was almost an English minor at Oxford? I can recite Byron and Shakespeare like the back of my hand." She arched an eyebrow, a small smile on her lips. "Well, I took a class in Romanticism to impress a girl."

"Did it work?"

"You tell me." He smiled. She rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly. God, he had missed her laugh. He straightened the blanket a bit more and handed her the tv remote. He kissed her soundly. "I'm going to get us dinner. You relax in the mean time."

"Mulder? Be careful."

He gave her a warm smile before grabbing the car keys and his phone and heading out. Scully looked down a warm tea in her hands and back out at the window, beyond the sand dunes, and to the sea. Why had she shut him out, to begin with? She sipped the tea and turned on the television. She relaxed for the first time in forever, letting sleep eventually take her as the tv droned on in the background.

. . . .

She dreamed of William, Mulder, and herself. What if he had not left? What if she had not given him up? What if they lived a normal life? Just like they had always talked about? The nightmare was a familiar one. What started out as perfect and ideal always became a nightmare as Mulder was still dead and the nameless men took William from her, every time. And she was powerless to stop it. She would wake up screaming, tears in her eyes. Some nights were better than others. But this particular nightmare was particularly worse.

She came out of the nightmare as she felt someone gently shaking her. "Scully," someone called gently. "Scully, wake up. It's just a dream. It's just a dream."

Her eyes opened blearily and she saw Mulder kneeling over her. She snaked her arms around his neck wordlessly and buried her face in his shoulder. He pulled her into his lap and rubbed her back soothingly. While Scully was normally very conservative when it came to displays of emotion, her breaking her walls of silence had set something off in her and Mulder sensed it. Her tears slowed and she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"The nightmares," she said. "It's always the same one. Every single time."

"You're fine," he whispered. "We're okay."

She nodded against him. How did she manage a month of the silent treatment and keeping everything inwards again? She took a deep breath and pulled back. "What time is it?"

"Dinner time," he said softly. "Are you hungry? I made a lot."

She nodded wordlessly. "It smells good." 

. . . .

Scully lay in the master bed, the lamp on the night stand dimly lighting her novel that she held. Except she wasn't reading. Not really. She had read the same page over and over at least three times. She was beginning to worry if he was actually coming to bed. The day had started off incredibly rough and her walls crumbled, she sought him out, and something happened between them. Things changed. They were able to reconnect.

But did they? She shifted in the large bed, noting that he had not brought his bags in with hers. Where was he for that matter? After they ate a pleasant dinner, they settled on the couch and watched a Lifetime movie together. Mulder held her as they poked fun at the corny nature of it. He then promised to meet her in bed after he took a shower.

But he had not come. In fact, Scully was not even sure she heard the shower running. Quietly, she got out of bed. She wished she still had her robe but she had lost it at some motel in Utah months ago. She instead pulled an overly large sweat-shirt that had 'Charleston, SC' stitched on it. She pulled it close, wrapping her arms around herself. She wandered the foreign halls gently, pushing a lose strand of hair from her face.

"Mulder," she called softly. Silence. "Mulder?"

"Out here, Scully," he called softly. 

She frowned, seeing him standing on the deck. She picked the blanket up from the couch and wrapped around herself again. She stepped out onto the deck and saw him wearing his jacket. He opened his arm and drew her against his chest. She smiled slightly as he wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest. He nuzzled her neck. "Sorry, Scully," he said softly. "I just needed to take a moment and look at this sky."

She followed his gaze upwards. "Oh wow."

"Do you know why I picked this place?" he whispered. He rocked them slowly back and forth. "Because we needed to go back to basics. This place doesn't look too bad considering Isabel rolled through here. The island gets battered but they rebuild. Besides, it's quiet. We can have our privacy which I know you want. We can be us and not have to worry about any coming after us. A tourist town in the dead of winter, I think we could be safe, don't you? Even just for a bit."

"You were always bad with metaphors," she whispered. "So we rebuild?"

"Well, reconnect. I will confess I could not stand another day without you talking to me. I ask myself every moment of every day how I got so lucky with you," he whispered in her ear. "You saved me. You believed in me when no one else did. And I love you more than you'll ever know."

He rubbed her arms gently. "I really do like it out here," she whispered. "The sea..."

"I know one way to your heart at least," he teased. She felt his traveling hands. "And I know many others too."

She giggled slightly. "Not. Out. Here. Besides, it is too cold, Mulder."

"Let's go inside," he whispered. He kissed "I have something I want to give you. Well, two somethings."

She shook her head and pulled on his hand. "Let's go to bed, Mulder."

He nodded gently as she led them to the master bedroom. Mulder smiled and went into the master bathroom suite to get ready. She took off her sweat shirt and threw it in a corner. He emerged a few minutes later wearing a soft gray tee shirt and black sleeping pants. They stared at each other after slipping beneath the blankets. 

"Say it, Scully."

"I feel like an old married couple," she admitted with a small smile.

"It's a nice feeling, isn't it?" 

"It's nice knowing I still have you, Mulder."

"You never lost me either, Scully." Mulder pulled her against him and she sighed contently. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag. She arched an eyebrow, looking up at him questioningly. "Merry Christmas, Scully."

She took the bag and took out a beautiful bracelet covered in various pieces of sea glass. It was not her normal style. More than anything, the bracelet reminded Scully of Melissa. But it is also reminded her of Mulder. She fingered the small pieces of sea glass. "It's..." she sighed and smiled. "It's lovely."

"They had this little card that was with it. Apparently, sea glass is formed with some amazing reactions chemically and physically over a long period of time. The end result is these beautiful pieces." She was not stupid. She knew the underlying message that he was telling her. "Do you like them?"

"Maybe you should have been a poet instead of a psychologist."

"What about a bard? Like Shakespeare? I already got a good start on the beard." He nuzzled her with stubbled chin and she laughed childishly. "And you know from experience I can be very dramatic in faking my death and actually dying." Her laughter died quietly. Mulder frowned and rubbed her arms. "What is it?"

"That's part of my nightmare," she whispered. She looked up into his eyes. "It always begins as if everything could have been perfect, what should have been. But then they kill you, the faceless men who took me take William. There is nothing I can do."

"Scully, you did the right thing."

"Did I, Mulder?"

He pressed another kiss to her temple. "Stop it, Scully. Beating yourself up over it won't help anything. We both know that. As for me," he sighed and repeated her own words, "I have no intention of going anywhere, Scully. I promise I'm not leaving again. Not now, not ever."

She nodded against his chest. Mulder slid them down under the covers. She placed the sea glass bracelet on the nightstand and snaked her arm across her chest like she had been doing all day. She felt safe. "Hm. You're warm tonight." She kissed his neck and then rested her ear over his heart. She closed her eyes, listening to his heart, the waves pounding the shore outside. "Tell me a story, Mulder."

He rubbed her back lovingly. "About what?"

"I don't know. Didn't Blackbeard die out here or something?"

"Yes, in Ocacroake." Mulder was silent. "What about a story about us? Would you like that?" She hitched a breath. "Well, I'll take that as a yes. Let's talk about the future. After this. Like we'll find a little house out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing crazy but somewhere where we can build a home together. You would go back to medicine. Maybe you stick with pathology or maybe you do something completely different."

"What about you," she mumbled sleepily.

"Me? Oh, I'd imagine I would be a good house wife. Learn to cook, massage your feet, worship everything you do," he said softly.

She made a content sleepy sound and Mulder continued to spin his tale for Scully. She finally drifted off to sleep. The last things she was aware of was his heart, his arms around her, the waves, and his drawling voice, the same one he used to use when he would weave his complex theories. This fragile peace between was more concrete than ever.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was meant to be a one-shot. Then I wrote a chapter two. Now a chapter three. And now I have a plot in my head I want to follow through.

Scully could not sleep. Physically, she was exhausted. She was yawning so much that it was causing her eyes to tear up. But her mind, no, her mind had different plans. It would not turn off. She rolled uneasily in bed, taking a majority of the blankets with her unintentionally. Mulder grunted in his sleep and she felt his hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her back to face him. She sighed and rolled back over onto his side, rearranging the blankets as she did. He smoothed his hand up her spine as rested his arm lightly around her.

“Everything okay,” he mumbled sleepily.

“Yeah,” she whispered, yawning again. Tears in her eyes again.

His arm and hand ran up the length of her back and back down, and he settled into the soothing motion. She closed her eyes to focus on his touch and listen to his heartbeat. She finally was able to sleep.

… .

Cape Hatteras was supposed to be a diversion, a distraction. The month leading up to their arrival, it had been some of the worst fighting that Mulder and Scully had experienced together. But they had healed, at least he was sure of it. They watched tv together, cooked together, slept together. Essentially, he felt like they were a normal couple since being on the run. But she still seemed distant somehow.

It was shortly after New Year’s day and he wanted to do something. She was curled up on the couch with a blanket and a book. “What do you think about going down to Frisco pier today?” he asked from the kitchen.

“And do what?”

He shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “We could explore a bit. Check out the lighthouse.”

She took a long sigh and looked up at him. “That’d be nice,” she said softly.

“We can leave around 10?” She nodded. “Do you want breakfast, Scully?”

“Are you offering to cook?”

“Well, I have a limited menu to pick from but you know I make a mean omelet.”

“Make it your famous western omelet?”

“You got it.”

Scully got up from the couch and placed a soft kiss on his cheek and padded to their bedroom. “I’m   
gonna take a shower,” she spoke softly.

He watched her retreating back, her shoulders hunched like she was carrying an albatross. There was just an air of constant sadness that followed her. Ever since they had reconciled, he felt his other half again, he could read her, but he did not realize the heaviness she carried in her heart. And of course, she would not go into detail. It would be like pulling teeth. Maybe he could get her to open up more today at the lighthouse. He had already knocked down one wall (they were talking again). All he had was work on it a little more.

… .

The weather was a bit warmer today as there was a light sea breeze. Mulder wore dark shades and Scully had opted to pull her hair back in a loose ponytail. “I doubt the National Park Service will arrest us,” he whispered in her ear.

She felt the familiar hand on the small of her back snake around her waist and pulled her close. “Not unless you had something else in mind,” she whispered, kissing his neck.

“I don’t see any sleeping bags.”

“Tough luck then.”

They walked together through the parking lot, noting the lack of cars. She huddled against his side uncharacteristically to shield off the cold. “I wish we could climb the lighthouse.”  
“Well, we have the house until May. Maybe we can when it gets a bit warmer.”

“I would love that.”

“Didn’t they literally move the lighthouse in 1999?”

“I remember hearing something about.”

They follow the wooded path through pass the information booths to a giant field. To the left was the red base of the iconic black and white lighthouse and to the right, two white little homes. Mulder paused an information plaque. “So those are where the lighthouse keeper and his helper would stay with their families. I like it.”

“What? The house or the lighthouse?”

“Those little houses,” he nodded. “We could have a place like that one day.”

“One day,” she mumbled under her breath.

“I don’t want to run forever, Scully,” he said in a low voice. “I am sorry for causing this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said softly. “Let’s go explore. I bought a disposable camera so we can at least make some memories.”

“I knew there was a reason you were smarter than me,” he whispered in her ear. “Let me see if I can get a park ranger to get to take our picture.”

“We almost seem normal.”

“Why don’t we be today? We’re Fox and Dana, long time partners on vacation,” he asked softly. “We can be ourselves, just us. Not Mulder and Scully, just Fox and Dana. Do you remember when we first started it all? When we went that last step. I told you that I felt like I was the real me when I was with you. Well, I want to forget everything else and just be your Fox for a while.”

She smiled endearingly and gently lifted the sunglasses from his face. “No sunglasses during the pictures,” she said with a small smile.

“Deal.”

And for a few hours, they acted like they were Fox and Dana, a normal couple without a care in the world. They got the park ranger to take their picture in front of the lighthouse. She snapped some shots of the lighthouse and Mulder smiling at her easily. He took a couple of her, a few of them kissing. They held hands as they wandered through the museum. They went to the gift shop to browse and he wanted to buy her something. She laughed, dismissing him. So he bought her a snow globe instead. They lingered at the park until 1:00 and wandered down the paths to the beach.

He was able to wrap his arms around her waist from behind, his tall stature nearly swallowing her. She hugged him tighter against her. “Mulder, thank you for bringing us here.”

"We're healing, right?"

She nodded shortly. "Yeah."

They stood there, holding onto each other. He rested his chin on the top of her head as they watched the waves. "Hm. What are you thinking?" he whispered after a moment.

"A lot of things," she answered vaguely.

"Wanna tell me?"

"Mmm. I will, just not now."

"Does it have to do with why you're not sleeping?"

She slouched a bit but was held up by Mulder's arms around her waist. "A bit."

"We can talk about it when your ready but just don't shut me out anymore," he whispered, kissing her hair.

"I won't," she vowed.


	4. Chapter 4

Mulder watched her from the deck of their small little beach haven as he held a steaming cup of coffee in between his hands. He drew the hood over his head in an effort to shield against the whipping cold sea breeze. Scully, however, seemed completely immune to the overcast and cold weather that had plagued them since their arrival on to Hatteras Island. He thought the south would be warmer, or at the very least, sunny. It was not even the overcast that bothered him, it was just in between. Was it going to snow, rain, or finally take all the clouds away and let the sun come through. But the overcast weather, especially the sea fog hung around the island hauntingly like the uncertainty of their relationship.

He winced as he sipped his hot coffee and a sudden biting gale of wind swarmed around him for a brief second. But he looked around, taking in the dark dry wood of the deck and appreciated the moment. He did know what forces at work had allowed them to stay undetected this long (or still kept her here) but he was thankful.

He had been eternally thankful, although begrudgingly at times, from the moment she walked into that basement office.

He settled into the adirondack chair that had been their fortress the previous night as he felt the cold seep into his bones from the old wooden chair. He automatically stretched his back before gently relaxing against the chair. He could feel the bones in his spine crack and pop as he settled back made himself comfortable. The entire time, his hazel eyes never lost sight of Scully.

He could see her red hair fluttering wildly in the wind like wildfire as she walked along the surf in bare feet. She reached down to pick something up for inspection and slipped it into her pocket and she continued onwards How could she even stand the chilly water at this time of year, he thought as he shivered.

. . . . 

Scully knew that Mulder was watching her. 

She could always feel his gaze. For the past month and a half, it made her feel ill and uneased but now, she felt like she used to. Safe. Loved. Excited. Well, it took on new connotations when they took it to the next level. But he was always gazing at her, watching her, and making her feel safe despite everything.

Despite everything....

She flinched beneath his old large black hoodie that threatened to swallow her. 

When did he start buying hoodies, she pondered. She missed his sweaters that he used to wear all the time when he looked like a model. She missed a lot of things about their old lives. She missed William most of all. She missed the possibility of the life they could have had. A complete family. Normalcy. But it seemed they were never destined for those things. Just idle fancy.

She felt the cold wet sand mold around her bare feet and felt alert as the cold ocean water washed up around her. Mulder would call her crazy for doing such a thing but she found it relaxing. She chuckled to herself, imagining Missy making some sort of comment about her connecting to nature. But Missy was dead. She was fugitive along with Mulder. She gave their only son up for adoption

Sighing, she continued along the surf, lifting her head to watch the large gray waves break against the shore. 

Everything had been gray lately. The water was gray. The constant overcast made everything. Their relationship was gray. Uncertain. Everything was full of uncertainty. She remembered the walls of silences she had built around over the previous two months. They had finally broken down those barriers and were attempting to reconnect. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly, imagining them as Mulder's arms from the previous night. 

She stopped in the surf and closed her eyes, letting her mind drift, her arms still clasped tightly around herself. She jumped slightly when a much larger form surrounded her but relaxed after a moment when she smelled him and felt a soft kiss on the top of her hair. "Cold yet, Scully?"

"A bit," she spoke softly. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Us. How gray it is. It's been overcast since we came down here."

"Good things about us I hope," he whispered over the roar of the waves. 

"They are," she whispered. She pulled his arms around her tighter and rested her head back against his chest. "I was just thinking about the past few months, Mulder. Actually the past few years. How far we come to this moment."

"I always will ask, Scully. Do you regret us?"

"The only thing I regret about us is following Kersh's advice," she whispered. "You did not need to leave. We would have been fine where we were."

"What about the truth?"

"Our truth was back in Georgetown who like to poop, sleep, and eat, Mulder," she whispered. "We had our truth. And I gave him up."

She had choked out those last words and her physically flinch against him as if she had been stabbed. He clutched her tightly to his chest and bent over her like a large tree. "It's okay, Scully," he whispered.

"Is it, Mulder? Will it ever be okay?"

He was silent, unsure of how to answer her, or if he even could answer her. He thought about their son too and treasured the brief 72 hours they had spent as a family. Wait. That might be it. Family.

"Scully," he began tentatively. "I've been thinking. Since we are here for the next five months, why don't we reach out to your mother and invite her down here? She could spend a week or two. It might be just what you need."

"Invite my mother," she asked, raising an eyebrow. She tilted her head backward so she could see him. "What happened to us being careful?"

"Just think about it," he replied, kissing her lips softly. "A little food for thought."

"Mmm," she sighed, looking back out into the Atlantic and the gray waves and the white caps. "I could go for a little breakfast right now."

"Are you ready to head back inside yet?"

"Are you offering to cook?"

"Anything for you. You know I'm your manservant."

She chuckled, as if in a daze and let him guide them back up the sandy beach to their temporary refuge for a late breakfast.


End file.
